


The Adventure of Death

by Krasierisawesome



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fix It, Jason Grace's death, MCGA, Rick Riordan - Freeform, Valhalla, Valkyrie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24008845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krasierisawesome/pseuds/Krasierisawesome
Summary: What if Jason Grace had gone to Valhalla after he died?
Relationships: Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

The memory of my death is vague. I can remember pain. I can remember wanting to scream, but I don’t remember if I did. My last thoughts were about Piper, Apollo, and Meg.  
They had to keep going, to free the Oracle, to stop Triumvirate Holdings.  
As I fell off of Tempest, pain surged through my body, but I still felt a sense of victory. I hit the ground, and most of the life seemed to be knocked out of me.  
The underworld now, I thought. Time to see my uncle.  
My life slowly started to fade away. Then, I felt myself being impaled again, and everything went black at the same time.  
I didn’t feel dead. It felt more like I was sleeping, waiting to be woken up. The pain disappeared, but I could still feel my thoughts wandering, like in a dream.  
When I woke up (which I had not expected myself to do), I found myself lying in front of a large building- one I certainly had never seen before.  
“Where am I?” I asked, surprising myself again by talking.  
“You’re dead,” Replied a girl with a scottish accent. “Any more questions?”  
I looked up at her. She looked no more than fourteen years old. Her black hair was long, and braided down her back. Her skin was dark.  
“Where’s Hades?” I asked. “I’d like to speak to him.”  
The girl studied me for a moment. “Excuse me?”  
“Hades. Your… king. Where is he?” I glanced around at the green grass that grew around the building. “What part of the underworld is this?”  
She blinked curiously at me. “Underworld? No, this is not an underworld. This world is actually above many of the other nine worlds.”  
“What?”  
“Stand up.”  
I obeyed.  
“You’re not…” She studied me, her dark eyes filling with alarm. “No! You can’t be…. Are you greek?”  
I blinked. “Yes. And roman. It’s a long story. What else would I be, Egyptian?”  
“No, no, no, no! This can’t be right.” She put her hands on her head and started to pace. Then, she turned and pointed at me. “You are not supposed to be here. I’ll be banished.”  
“Banished from where?”  
“Do you realize what this could do to me?! I’ll be ruined, and it’s your fault!”  
“I didn’t do anything.”  
“Sorcha,” I heard a voice say.  
The girl spun around to face a large man wearing a viking helmet. I looked at him too.  
“Who are you?” I asked.  
“Who are you?” The viking fired back. “I’ve never seen you here before.”  
“He’s new,” The girl said quickly. “I found him while on patrol.”  
The viking sized me up. “Well, I’ll put him on the list, then.” He turned back to her. “I need you to do a task for me. But first, show this young man to his room,” He wrote something down. “On floor nineteen.”  
“Floor nineteen?” I looked at the building. “In there? How many floors are in that place?”  
“Five hundred-forty,” The man said without looking at me. “Have fun. Get settled in. Your valkyrie will come retrieve you for dinner.”  
“My what?”  
“Your valkyrie.”  
“I-I think there’s been a mistake. I’m not supposed to-”  
The girl pushed me in through the entrance. “I’m your valkyrie,” she whispered. “And I’m as good as dead if you tell them that I made a mistake. You hear me?”  
“They’re going to kill you?” I paused. “Wait. Aren’t you already dead?”  
“No,” she took a deep breath. “And no. I meant that as an expression. They won’t actually kill me. Also, I’m a valkyrie, not a resident here. I am actually quite alive.”  
“But…. Can you return to the real world?”  
“All nine worlds are entirely real,” she argued. “Which one do you mean?”  
“Um...earth.”  
“Ah, midgard.” Her voice was unimpressed. “Yes, I do return there sometimes. I quite prefer it here, though.”  
“What happens when you do die?”  
She glared at me. “Enough questions. I’ll show you to your room.”  
I did not want to be shown to my room. I wanted to ask more questions until I found a way to get to where I was supposed to be. But this girl, despite being a few years younger than me, was quite intimidating. Perhaps it was because she reminded me of Hazel. Sure, Hazel didn’t have a scottish accent or a braid down her back, but she was certainly a fighter.  
When we reached floor nineteen, I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I figured maybe it was from getting stabbed multiple times, but I feared otherwise.  
“Am I the only one on this floor?”  
The girl laughed. “Certainly not. You think we’d let you have an entire floor to yourself while we crammed everyone else on the other floors.”  
“But you have five hundred-forty floors. How many people live here?”  
She gave me a smile and turned to leave.  
“Wait! How will I know which room is mine?”  
“It’s got your name on it,” she said. “Have fun.”  
I stood there for a few moments. This place didn’t feel like the real world, but I didn’t think it could really be the afterlife. My body felt too real. I could still process physical pain. Was it supposed to be this way?  
Sure enough, each room had a name on it. I read through them, trying to guess what my new neighbors would be like.  
“Thomas Jefferson Jr.,” I read. “Mallory Keen, H-Halfborn Gunderson?” I looked around. “What kind of a name….” I decided to keep going, just in case the person with that name could hear me. “Alex Fierro, Magnus chase.” I paused, trying to remember where I’d heard that name before.  
He couldn’t be related to Annabeth, could he? I decided not, since Annabeth was greek, and I doubted mix ups happened very often.  
Then, I found my name. Jason Grace. It felt wrong, seeing a room for myself. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. I was supposed to be getting judged by my uncle, Hades.”  
But still I opened the door. Inside, there was a bed in the corner. I was almost tempted to collapse and go to sleep, but I had work to do. I needed to solve this problem.  
On the walls hung pictures. One of Thalia, holding her bow and looking at me with her electrocuting blue eyes. I should have been surprised to see that picture, but I wasn’t. Somehow, it just felt very right. Thalia was supposed to be there. I wanted her to be there.  
More pictures decorated the walls, some I’d never seen before. I saw Piper, smiling, her uneven dark hair blowing in the wind, her multicolored eyes full of happiness.  
I missed her. I had died protecting her, but I still felt a sense of guilt. I hoped she was okay.  
Another picture depicted Nico Di Angelo, standing by Apollo’s son, Will Solace. I stared at that picture for a long time- Not because it seemed out of place, but because Nico was smiling. He looked truly happy. I stared at the gleam in his eyes, and something in my chest seemed to heal itself. He was okay.  
I heard a knock at the door.  
“Come in!” I called.  
“I can’t,” A male voice said. “Could you open the door, possibly?”  
I walked up to the door and swung it open. Don’t ask me why. I didn’t recognize the voice. I just figured that too many weird things had happened for me to worry about strangers.  
A dark-skinned young man greeted me by holding out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m TJ, your neighbor.”  
I shook his hand. “TJ, huh? Is that short for…”  
“Thomas Jefferson Jr.,” he finished. “Yes. But I’m not actually Thomas Jefferson’s son. I’m the son of Tyr.”  
“I’m Jason Grace, son of-” I stopped myself. “Um, someone.”  
“You never met your parents?”  
“Oh, I’ve met them,” I assured him. “I just…. Where exactly am I?”  
He laughed. “You’re in Valhalla. I thought that would have been explained to you already.”  
“So, this isn’t the underworld?”  
He shook his head. “Indeed it is not. I’ve never heard of an underworld. Perhaps you are talking about Helheim.”  
“Hell?”  
“Helheim,” he said. “Where the dishonored dead go.”  
“Right,” I said. “And this is where…”  
“The honored dead go.” He smiled. “That is, if you died under very specific circumstances.”  
“Oh. Okay.”  
He smiled again. “Nice to meet you. I’ll introduce you to the others at dinner.”  
With that, he was gone.  
I closed my door and walked back to my bed. Right there, on a desk, was a pile of sketches I had made for the temple hill.  
My heart sank. These weren’t supposed to be here. They were supposed to be back at my dorm room, where Apollo could easily find them. I quickly picked them up and flipped through them.  
They were all there. Every single one.  
“This isn’t right,” I whispered. “They need these.”  
But here, I couldn’t even talk about the Greek or Roman gods. If I did, that girl would be in trouble. What had she said she was? My valkyrie? What even was that?  
I turned and paced in my room. At least Apollo could use the diorama I had made. Maybe he could talk to Annabeth about the designs.  
That is, if he got a chance to see Annabeth.  
I imagined Apollo bursting through the door of my room, still as Lester Papadopoulos, in search of my sloppy drawings.  
“Hey man,” he’d say. “Nice to see you’re doing well, you know, for a dead guy. Want some coke?”  
I shook the thought out of my head. I had no time to worry about Lester.  
Another knock on my door.  
“Coming!” I called.  
“It’s time for dinner!” My valkyrie said. “Your death is about to be evaluated.”  
I hesitated. “Sounds fun,” I said. “I’ll be right there.”  
In case you can’t tell, I was being sarcastic. That did not sound fun.  
I was confused as we walked down the hall. My valkyrie described the meal as ‘feasting to the death.’  
“The food’s going to kill us?”  
“No. After eating, you will take part in a battle.”  
“Against who?”  
She looked at me as if I was clueless. “Everyone.”  
With that, we made our way outside to eat.  
“We have one new resident here today!” Shouted a large viking with a long beard. “Everyone, find a seat. Then, we shall welcome the newcomer, Jason Grace!”  
I froze. My valkyrie pulled me over to a table and we sat down.  
“Now,” she said. “You must remember not to speak of your origin. As far as anyone is concerned, you’re just a mortal.”  
“But-”  
“Got it?”  
I blinked. “Yeah.”  
TJ walked over and sat down. “Hey, Jason. How have you been doing?”  
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to respond to that. Great! I love being dead!  
A girl with short red hair sat next to him. “Who’s the new kid?”  
“I’m-”  
“This is Jason Grace,” My valkyrie explained.  
“Huh,” the red-haired girl sized me up. “He doesn’t look like much.”  
I opened my mouth to protest, but another person slid into the seat next to me. I looked up at him. He must have been at least eight feet tall, with huge muscles and long red hair.  
“I’m Halfborn Gunderson,” He said, holding out his hand for me to shake it. “And you are….?”  
“Uh,” I fumbled for words as I shook his hand. “Jason.”  
He let out a laugh. “Alex! Magnus! We got another new one on floor nineteen!”  
Two more boys marched over and sat across from me. One of them was blond with gray eyes that reminded me of Annabeth. The other had green hair and a pink t-shirt. They both gave me sympathetic smiles.  
The blond guy held out his hand. “I’m Magnus.”  
“Magnus Chase?”  
He raised his eyebrows. “You’ve heard of me?”  
“Yeah, I-” I stopped myself. “I mean, no. I just saw your name on your door. Are you related to Annabeth Chase?”  
“Annabeth? She’s my cousin. Do you know her?”  
“She’s... She was my friend.”  
He studied me for a moment. “And Percy? You knew him too?”  
“Yeah.” I smiled, fondly remembering Percy Jackson.  
“Huh.” Magnus turned back to his food. “Cool.”  
“Sorcha,” the large viking said. “Do you care to recall Jason’s death for us? We’d love to hear.”  
My Valkyrie was quiet.  
“Or,” the viking said. “We could use valkyrie vision.”  
I looked at her, and she gave me a confident nod. I shuddered for a moment, suddenly worried about what could happen if they found out the truth.  
“Very well,” The viking turned on a large screen that I hadn’t seen before. Some sort of movie seemed to be playing, but I didn’t know what was happening.  
Then, I understood. I was watching my own death. Suddenly, the spot where I’d been impaled started to ache.  
“Go! Remember!” Hearing my own voice from the screen made me shudder again. I glanced nervously at Sorcha.  
Then, I watched as Caligula, atop his horse, Incitatus, threw his spear into my back.  
Piper’s scream was the most heartbreaking thing I’d ever heard. I didn’t want her feeling broken because of me. I’d intended to protect her.  
I saw my own eyes, wide with shock. I fell forward and wrapped my arms around Tempest’s neck. A few seconds later, I fell off onto the deck. My sword fell out of my hand.  
A collective gasp was could be heard from the crowd. One person shouted, “He dropped his weapon!”  
I wanted them to stop the film then. I didn’t want to see anymore. But the film kept playing, and I watched as Caligula drove his spear into my body again, killing me completely.  
The screen went black. The large viking glared at Sorcha. “He dropped his sword. He was not holding a weapon as he died.”  
“He was dead before he hit the ground,” she argued.  
Dozens of others throughout the crowd jumped to their feet and started arguing. In truth, I had not died entirely before hitting the ground, but I decided not to mention that.  
After a couple minutes of arguing, I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up.  
“Quiet!” I shouted. Everything went silent. Some people looked at me curiously, others angrily. “I don’t want to cause any trouble!” I made sure to raise my voice so it could be heard across the area. I made eye-contact with Sorcha, silently apologizing. “I am not supposed to be here! I don’t wish to cause any trouble! Just show me to the exit, and I’ll be on my way!”  
The crowd erupted in a wave of laughter that could probably be heard for miles.  
“Exit? Ha! The boy thinks he can just leave Valhalla!”  
Others laughed and shouted in agreement. I stood there like an idiot, watching with a blank expression on my face.  
“Jason Grace,” The large viking said. “There is no way to actually tell when you truly died. Therefore, we cannot prove whether or not you should be here. Nevertheless, you are here. And once in Valhalla, I’m afraid there is no way out. Not until Ragnarok, at least.”  
“Ragnarok?”  
More laughter. The large viking held up a hand to silence everyone. “Sorcha, you will speak with me later.”  
Sorcha glared at me angrily.  
“No!” I protested. “You can put the blame on me. Don’t banish her for a slight mix up.”  
The viking raised his eyebrow. “Mix up? What is that supposed to mean?”  
I swallowed hard. Every muscle in my body tingled. “Nothing. I’m just saying that she shouldn’t-”  
“Sorcha,” The large viking turned his attention back to her. “Did you mix something up?”  
Her dark eyes were filled with alarm and surprise. “I don’t think so.”  
Man, she was a good liar. The viking glared at her a few more moments, then turned back to me. “Jason, do you know who your parents are? You look like you could be a son of Frey.”  
Across from me, Magnus Chase choked on his food. “What?!”  
“No, sir. I knew both my parents. Neither of them was a god,” I lied.  
He squinted at me, then waved his hand dismissively. “Very well, then. Finish your eating, and then let the battle begin!”  
A cheer echoed throughout the area. I looked at Sorcha. “What happens if someone gets killed?”  
The red-haired girl laughed so hard, I started to get worried. The green-haired dude, who I guessed was Alex, nudged her in the side.  
“You’re supposed to die, stupid,” The red-haired girl said. “You’ll be reborn back in your room a few hours later.”  
Blood rushed in my ears. I felt my head become light and dizzy.  
Halfborn Gunderson grabbed my arm. “Don’t mind Mallory. She makes it sound bad. Dying is actually quite enjoyable, sometimes.  
“I just did die,” I argued. “And it was not fun.”  
“You’ll get used to it,” Magnus assured me.  
Alex shoved him.  
“Hey!” Magnus shoved him back.  
They reminded me a little of Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace. Though I could never imagine Nico with green hair. The comparison made me a little melancholy.  
When the battle started, I remember being confused. Sorcha handed me and sword and whispered, “Don’t blow it.”  
“What do I do?”  
“Just kill everyone in sight,” Magnus told me. “You’ll do fine.”  
Trust me, I had no problem fighting. The training Lupa had given me prepared me for any battle. I wasn’t scared.  
I was just confused. I didn’t see a reason to kill these people. Sure, they had laughed at me, but I wasn’t that kind of person. I didn’t want to kill them.  
I reminded myself that they wouldn’t stay dead. Still, it was hard for me to find a reason to kill.  
Then, I saw a group of them racing towards me.  
“They’re ganging up on you,” Magnus warned me. “Watch out.”  
I didn’t wonder why they were ganging up on me. Back at Camp Jupiter, it was natural for people to pick on the new kids. But I never liked it, and I refused to accept it.  
I froze for a few seconds. The others gave me looks of pity from across the battlefield. I gripped my sword tightly, though it was obvious I wasn’t sure what to do with it.  
TJ was decent enough to try and help me. He was already about fifty feet away, but he waved his arms in the air and shouted.  
“Hey, back off!”  
The people all turned their heads to look at him. I noticed, during that short moment, that they were all distracted. I jumped back, moving myself around them until I was out of their reach. Then, I threw my sword into the back of the guy in the middle.  
His muscles seemed to tighten as he fell forward, choking on his own blood. I realized with a surge of pain that I had used the same move Caligula had used on me.  
I fell to my knees. TJ shouted to me, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying. He probably thought I was injured.  
I stared at the person I had just killed. I knew he would be fine in a few hours, but that didn’t seem to make it better. One of his friends grabbed his sword and charged at me.  
I didn’t try to stop him. I felt as if I was going into a daze. He had the decency to stab me in my chest rather than in my back. For that, I was grateful.  
Then, I died for the second time that day.


	2. Chapter 2

I blinked sleepily. Surely I’d been out for hours, but I still felt exhausted. Magnus Chase stood above me. “Well, look who’s back.”  
I opened my eyes suddenly and examined my surroundings. I was lying on the floor of my hotel room, a few feet away from my bed.  
“Yeah, you’re definitely not a child of Frey.” Magnus held out his hand to pull me up. I took it.  
“How long was I out?” I asked.  
“About nine hours,” he said. “It’s breakfast time.”  
I groaned. “I’m not hungry. I’m certainly not in the mood to die again.”  
He patted my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Valhalla serves amazing breakfasts.”  
I looked at him. “Seriously? A day ago, I didn’t even know that you had to eat in the afterlife.” I looked at my bed. “Or sleep. It just feels wrong.”  
“You’ll get used to it. Alex and I would be glad to share our stories. Everyone needs time to adjust.”  
“It’s not just that. I don’t….” I paused, considering. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be here.”  
“Ha!” He laughed. “Your death was actually heroic. You should have seen mine. Everyone thought I was a loser.”  
Being a son of Jupiter, I could sense vibrations better than most people. At that moment, I could have sworn I saw the pendant around his neck vibrate. I tried to ignore it.  
“But…” I stopped. “Thanks. I’ll be at breakfast in a few minutes.”  
“Good. See you there.” He smiled and walked out of my room.  
I looked around the room again. It didn’t feel like it should be my room. I wasn’t supposed to have my own space in Valhalla. I was supposed to be in the underworld.  
I studied the pictures. Somehow, a couple more had appeared. One was of my mom, holding me as a baby. Next to her was Thalia, who was scowling.  
For some reason, anger seemed to boil inside of me. I didn’t want to see my mom again. I pulled the picture off of the wall, flinging it across the room. It shattered and fell to the floor in pieces.  
I put my hands on my head, took a deep breath, and walked out of my room.  
Magnus was right. Valhalla did serve a pretty good breakfast. There was an entire buffet of every breakfast food imaginable, some I’d never heard of (raspberry poppyseed turnovers?). I didn’t have much of an appetite, but the food did smell good.  
Mallory Keen ate a plate of donuts, most of them covered in powdered sugar. Halfborn Gunderson dug into a large plate of sausage, eggs, hash browns, and pancakes. Alex Fierro grabbed a scone and started nibbling on it.  
TJ seemed thrilled to eat a plate of eggs and bacon. Magnus reached for a scone, but Alex swatted his hand away. Once again, they reminded me of Nico and Will.  
“Why don’t you eat something, Jason?” Alex asked, swatting Magnus’s hand away from the scones again.  
“I’m not really hungry,” I said.  
Halfborn nudged me good-naturedly. “No wonder the kid’s so skinny. He won’t eat anything.”  
Mallory punched his arm.  
It took me a moment to process that. I’d never been insulted for my size before. Back at Camp Jupiter, it was almost impossible to gain weight with all the exhausting things they had us do.  
Alex waved her hand. “Don’t mind Halfborn. He’s a berserker.”  
“And she’s an ar-”  
Faster than the human brain could comprehend, Alex pulled out a dagger and held it to Halfborn’s throat.  
“You know I don’t like that word,” she said sweetly, taking another bite of her scone.  
Halfborn gently pushed the blade away from his neck. “Fine. I won’t mention the word.”  
Alex put her dagger back in its sheath and continued eating.  
“You know how to wield a dagger,” I observed.  
Magnus laughed. “That’s not her weapon of choice, though. You should see her with her clay equipment.”  
Alex glared at him.  
“Clay equipment?” I asked. “Like, carving knives?”  
“Sort of,” Alex finished her scone and wiped her hands on her pink shirt. “But not knives. I prefer wires.”  
Magnus slowly reached across the table and grabbed a scone, stuffing the entire thing into his mouth before Alex could take it. His eyes started to water as he tried to chew it.  
Alex ran her fingers through her green hair. “But don’t make fun of my weapon. You should see Magnus’s sword.”  
Again, the pendant on Magnus’s neck started to vibrate, as if shaking with anticipation. I was tempted to ask about it, but I didn’t have to.  
Magnus finally swallowed his food and pulled the pendant off the chain. It immediately grew into a large sword with glowing blue inscriptions on the sides of its blade.  
He let go of it, and it floated in midair. “This,” Magnus said. “Is Jack.”  
I nodded slowly. “That’s an interesting name for a blade. My friend Piper had a knife named Katoptris, and my friend Percy had a pen-sword named Riptide, but-”  
“Riptide!” The blade suddenly spoke, startling me out of my seat. “You’ve seen her?! How is she?!” It gasped dramatically. “Is- is she with another man?”  
I stared in confusion as the sword’s inscriptions changed to a darker, sadder shade of blue. He started singing American Love Story by LANco.  
I sat up. “It...talks.”  
“He!” The sword changed back to its normal color and stopped singing. “Show some respect!”  
I slowly got back into my seat. “You can talk.”  
“And you figured it out all by yourself,” the sword scoffed and turned back to Magnus. “Who is this, Señor?”  
Magnus waved his hand, gesturing towards me. “This is Jason. He knows Annabeth, apparently. And Percy.”  
“And Riptide,” The sword added, floating over to me. ‘Tell me about her.”  
“H-Her?”  
“Yes! Why must I be forced to have this conversation again?! Riptide is a lady!”  
“Okay, okay,” I held up my hands in surrender. “Of course.”  
“So tell me about her!” Jack paced impatiently (do swords pace?).  
“Uh… Well, last I heard, she was doing well. I haven’t seen her in a while, but-”  
“Did she say anything about me?”  
I glanced at Magnus, who nodded quickly. “Uh… Yes,” I lied. “She would not shut up about you. She said you were so strong and brave and…” I paused. “Sharp?”  
Jack changed color to bright red and started to dance around. “She said I was sharp! She said I was sharp! She thinks I’m handsome!”  
“Yes,” I agreed.  
Just then, Sorcha flew over and sat at our table. She glared at me, as if telling me not to do anything stupid.  
“Hey sis,” TJ said.  
It was a good thing I wasn’t eating anything, because I would have choked. “Wait a minute,” I looked at TJ, then at Sorcha, then back at TJ. “Haven’t you been dead for centuries?”  
He nodded. I looked at Sorcha.  
“And you’re still alive?”  
She nodded.  
“And you two are siblings? How?”  
TJ started laughing, but Sorcha just looked at me as if I was stupid. “We’re both children of Tyr. We obviously had different mortal parents.”  
“Oh,” I said. “So.. Like Nico and Hazel.”  
“Who?” They both spoke at the same time.  
“Nico and Hazel. They were..” I looked at Sorcha, who was suddenly giving me a warning look. “My friends,” I finished quickly.  
“Who was their godly parent?” TJ asked.  
“I don’t remember,” I lied.  
Alex leaned over and looked at me. “You were just a mortal, right? You knew both your parents?”  
I nodded quickly.  
Alex looked at Magnus and whispered something to him. He looked skeptical, but he nodded.  
“How did you know so many demigods?” Alex asked, raising her left eyebrow slightly.  
I swallowed hard. “My...sister. Thalia Grace. She was a demigod. One of Annabeth’s friends. Percy’s cousin. She knew a lot of others.”  
No one looked like they believed me, but Halfborn patted my shoulder reassuringly. “Makes sense.”  
“Magnus, Alex,” Mallory spoke up. “Where’s your valkyrie?”  
I looked at Sorcha. “They have a different valkyrie?”  
“Of course. I wasn’t even working here when they died.”  
“And she’s not my valkyrie,” Alex said, wiping her face with a napkin. “She’s my sister. She resigned some time ago so she could focus on her life with Amir. We still see her a lot, though. She likes it when we visit.”  
“I thought you couldn’t just leave Valhalla,” I said. “How do you visit her?”  
Magnus and Alex looked at each other, then back at me. “Well, things aren’t that black and white,” Magnus explained. “You can leave Valhalla, but if you die in a different world, you’re dead for good. You’d either cease to exist or end up in Helheim.”  
I shuddered. I didn’t know much about Helheim, but the fact that the word sounded an awful lot like hell made me uneasy. I quickly shook off the feeling. “But you can leave?”  
“Yes,” Magnus said. “It’s not that hard. My first trip out of Valhalla, I recycled myself.”  
“What?”  
“Long story. Leaving isn’t really much of a problem. As long as there aren’t any threats awaiting you in the other worlds-”  
Alex clamped her hand over Magnus’s mouth. “You can stop talking now, idiot.” She looked at me and smiled. “Of course, there’s always a threat awaiting you in one of the other worlds, so leaving would be a horrible idea.”  
I didn’t process any of what she said. All I could think about was seeing Piper again, telling her I was okay. I needed that.  
I jumped out of my seat. “Where’s the exit?”  
“Uh, well,” Magnus faltered, looking at Alex. “It’s not really that simple.”  
“Do I have to make a portal or something?”  
“Kind of, but-” He stopped himself. “Alex is right. Leaving isn’t the best idea.”  
“I’ll take my chances,” I said. “I need to see my friends.”  
“I thought you died protecting your friends.”  
“I did. But I left behind a lot of unfinished business.” I thought about the sketches that were sitting on my desk. “I need to talk to some people.”  
“That’s too bad,” Halfborn cut it, suddenly much less cheerful. “It’s never that simple. You’ll get yourself killed.”  
“You think I can’t take care of myself?”  
He scoffed. “Sorry, kid. Look where you are. You’ve died already, and at the young age of seventeen.”  
“But Magnus is sixteen!” I argued.  
“Hey!” Magnus looked offended. “I’m also the son of Frey.” He paused, as if unsure of whether or not that qualified as a good thing. “You’re just a regular human.”  
I opened my mouth to argue, but I knew that if I did, I’d get Sorcha in trouble. Already, she was staring at me so intensely that I could almost feel a hole burning into my forehead.  
“You can’t just expect me to stay here until the end of the world,” I said finally.  
Halfborn sighed, getting up to leave. TJ looked at me sympathetically. Alex gave Magnus an exasperated sigh, as if to say, Look what you started.  
“Maybe…” Magnus began, but Alex elbowed him in the ribs.  
“Maybe what?” I asked. “Is there a way for me to even talk to my friends?”  
Alex looked Magnus in the eye, and they seemed to have a silent argument. Finally, they both sighed, and Alex turned to me. “Maybe you could come with us next time we go to visit Sam. But that’s only if you promise to come right back immediately afterward.”  
I didn’t like being talked to as if I was still a child, but I nodded slowly. “Alright.”  
“Good,” Magnus got up to leave. “See ya later, Jason.”  
I waved. “Bye.”  
I had to figure out a way to tell them I was a demigod without mentioning that I was Roman/Greek. I considered pretending to be the child of a norse god, but I didn’t know the names of many norse gods. Besides Thor, of course.  
“TJ,” I said. “What are some characteristics of a child of Tyr?”  
He paused for a moment. “Well, we’re very passionate about justice,” he paused. “And equality. And we can’t say no to a challenge. Or maybe that’s just me.” He smiled. “Why?”  
“No reason. I was just curious.” I got up to leave. “Thanks.”  
When I got back up to my room, I started to pace. I glanced around the room until my gaze fell on the picture of Thalia.  
“What would you do?” I asked out loud.  
No response, of course. I was talking to a photograph. I shook my head quickly and turned to my desk, where the pile of papers was sitting.  
“Well, it’s not like I’ll be making it back to California anyway,” I sighed, picking up the papers and staring at them.  
Underneath them on the desk, I spotted a CD player. It did seem a little out of place, but I recognized it. It was the CD player I’d had in my dorm room.  
I picked it up and examined it. There were no CDs next to it, just the one that I’d left in.  
“Gym Class Heroes,” I read. “Huh.”  
There was a knock on my door. I jumped, dropping the CD player back onto the desk. “I’m coming!”  
I swung the door open. Standing in front of me -or rather, floating -was the sword, Jack.  
“Um, hello?”  
He floated in, ignoring me completely. “Where is she?”  
“Sh-she? Who? I’m the only one in here.”  
He froze. “You cannot fool me. I sense a female presence here.”  
“Look, if you’re looking for Riptide, I assure you-”  
“Not Riptide. No, this lady is much smaller, yet still dangerous. Show me where she is hiding.”  
“Sorry. I don’t have any tiny female weapons in here.”  
He flew over to my bed and hovered near it. “Move the blanket. I want to see her.”  
I sighed. “There is no one there.” I picked up the blanket.  
He zoomed around the room excitedly. “There she is! There she is!” He returned to the bed and started to vibrate with energy. “Look!”  
I stared at the knife sitting on my bed, still in its sheath.  
“Katoptris?”  
“That’s her name? It’s...beautiful. Katoptris.”  
I stared at the knife a few more seconds, then turned to Jack. “Would you give me a moment?”  
“Sure.” He floated right in front of me, still vibrating with curiosity.  
“I mean…..you know….alone.”  
“Oh! Right! Of course. I’ll just take Katoptris and we’ll be on our way.”  
“No. Leave Katoptris here.”  
“But-”  
“Jack.”  
His inscriptions glowed light red, so I assumed he was scowling at me. “Fine.” He turned around quickly and floated out the door.  
I gave an exasperated sigh. If you’ve ever had to tell a talking sword to scram so you could be alone with your friend’s old prophetic knife, you must understand.  
I picked up Katoptris and examined the blade. I didn’t know how it had gotten to Valhalla. Obviously no one else had put it here. They would have recognized that it was a greek blade and thrown it out.  
It made me think of Piper. This had to have something to do with her. Part of me wondered if she was trying to communicate with me. Was it possible she knew where I was?  
I unsheathed the blade, hoping to see something. It was still deadly sharp, and more reflective than most mirrors. But apart from that, it was just a regular knife. I saw no visions, no messages.  
I sighed and put it back. I was used to feeling alone in new places, but this was different. I was stuck here. Forever. I just wanted to see my friends again, even if for one last time.  
I opened my window and called, “Sorcha!” I hoped she would fly in the window and answer my many questions. She was the only person who also knew I wasn’t supposed to be here. She would be able to explain this.  
But she didn’t fly in. I closed my window and sighed.  
There was a knock at my door. I jumped up and swung it open.  
“You called me,” Sorcha raised her eyebrows. “You need something?”  
“Yes, actually. I was hoping you could tell me-”  
“Where did you get that?!”  
I glanced at Katoptris, then at Sorcha. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. How do things get transported from Midgard to Valhalla?”  
She looked deeply troubled, but she answered clearly. “Well, if someone puts an object in your coffin, it usually ends up here. Do you have any greek friends who would give you such a blade?”  
I swallowed hard. “I do have one. But I-I don’t know why she would do this. This was her knife. She might need it.”  
We were both quiet for a few seconds, neither of us knowing what to say. Then, Sorcha spoke up again. “Well, no matter how it got here. It’s a greek blade. Who knows what’ll happen if you get caught with it.”  
“I thought they couldn’t kick me out of Valhalla.”  
“They can’t. But they can make your time in Valhalla miserable. Unless you want to be washing thousands of plates every night until Ragnarok, I suggest you get rid of that knife.”  
I swallowed. “I want to see her again.”  
She huffed. “I can’t do anything about that, I’m afraid.”  
A realization hit me like a boulder, and I felt horrible about it immediately. But I had to see if it worked.  
“Yes you can. You can return to Midgard. Take me with you.”  
“I can’t. I’ll be banished.”  
“Only if they find out. I’ll be back in time for dinner. Just take me to California so I can see my friends.”  
“No. It’s too risky.”  
I had hoped not to say what I said next. It made me feel like a real jerk, and I didn’t blame her if she hated me. I just had to see Piper.  
“Sorcha,” I said. “I challenge you to take me to California, down on Midgard.”  
Her eyes widened. “Excuse me? You can’t just…. I’m not like my brother, Jason. I can resist a challenge if it’s too risky.”  
“Sounds to me like you’re scared.”  
“I’m not scared. I’m just being sensible.”  
“You’re right. It’d be too hard for you to carry me all the way to California.”  
“Jason…” She closed her eyes and made a growling sound. "No, I won't."  
I smirked, waiting. I could see the conflict in her eyes.  
“I hate you,” she said finally.  
The next thing I knew, I was in the sky, flying above the deserts of California.


	3. Chapter 3

I felt horrible about doing this to Sorcha. It wasn’t fair. I wasn’t the type of person to take advantage of someone.  
I just really, really needed to see Piper. I made a mental promise not to let Sorcha take the fall for this. I would own full responsibility, even if that meant washing dishes until Ragnarok.  
When we finally reached the house Piper had lived in, I signalled for Sorcha to land. She gave me a frustrated grunt, but slowly lowered me into the driveway.  
I examined the house. I’d been here before, probably very recently, but it seemed so different. It didn’t have the same warm feeling it’d once had.  
“Piper!” I called, racing to the door.  
I heard a set of footsteps inside, moving towards the door. I heard the sound of several locks unlocking, and the door swung open.  
“Pipes!” I barely resisted the urge to jump in through the door.  
“Woah, young man!” Instead of Piper, the figure in front of me was an old woman. She scowled at me. “Who are you?”  
“Uh, I’m… Jason. Is Piper here?”  
She squinted at me. “Who?”  
“Piper. She lives here. I mean, she did. She can’t be in Oklahoma already.”  
“I don’t know anyone named Piper. This is my house.” She waved her hand for me to leave. “Look somewhere else.”  
She slammed the door. My heart sank. How was I supposed to find Piper now? It wasn’t like she had a tracking device on her.  
I looked back at Sorcha. “She’s not here. She must have left a few days ago.”  
Sorcha sighed. “I wish I could say I’m sorry.”  
“Will you take me back to my old dorm? I mean, before we return to Valhalla. I want to check on some things.”  
“Jason, I’ll be ruined if I do anything besides bring you straight back. As it is, I’ll probably lose my job.”  
“I won’t let that happen.”  
“You overestimate how much control you have over the situation.”  
I closed my eyes and sighed. “Alright. Let’s go back to Valhalla, then.”  
She grabbed my arms and prepared to take off. I looked at the grass on Piper’s old lawn. It was somehow green, despite the intense heat of the recent fires. Lying on the lawn was the harpy feather that had once been in Piper’s hair.  
Sorcha jumped to take off.  
“Wait!” I shouted.  
She fell back down. “What now?”  
I walked over to the feather and picked it up. “It was Piper’s.”  
Sorcha rolled her eyes. “Look, I know you want to get back to your girlfriend, but-”  
“She’s not my girlfriend.”  
Sorcha sighed. “Whatever she is. I understand that you want to see her again, but it doesn’t always work like that. You’re dead. What would you gain by speaking to her?”  
I was silent for a while. I stared at the feather. “Maybe some closure.”  
“Jason, we really have to-”  
I ran over to the mailbox and pulled out a newspaper.  
“What are you doing now?” She walked over to me. “Stealing a bunch of articles? Are you serious?”  
I didn’t respond.  
“Okay,” She tried to pull the newspaper out of my hands. “Put it back.”  
I finally let go of it, and she glanced at the front page. “What the Helheim? That’s you, isn’t it?”  
I nodded, and she read the heading.  
“Seventeen year-old boy found dead on beach, thought to have committed suicide.”  
I swallowed hard. “They think I impaled myself. Twice.”  
She stared at the newspaper a few more moments, her dark eyes impossible to read. “Well,” She said finally. “Better than knowing the truth, right?”  
“What is that supposed to mean?”  
“Your friend knows what happened, doesn’t she? Isn’t that enough? If everyone else thinks you killed yourself, what does it matter?”  
“It matters because Piper won’t get the chance to tell everyone what really happened. Demigods don’t typically have cell phones, you know. What do you expect the rest of my friends to think?”  
“I don’t know. But right now, we need to return to Valhalla.”  
I yanked the newspaper back and scanned the words. “My funeral starts in an hour.”  
“All the more reason to leave. What will people think if they see you?”  
“I don’t care. Piper will be there. She has to be.”  
“Jason, we don’t have an hour to wait around for your funeral to start.”  
“We don’t have to.” I pointed down the street. “See that church? That’s where the funeral will be. Let’s go there now. Maybe Piper will be early.”  
“Jason, I’m serious. We-”  
“Please? If she’s right down the street, I can’t just leave.”  
Sorcha glared at me and hesitated for a considerable amount of time. “You know what?” She paused, taking a deep breath. “We’re leaving Midgard in thirty minutes. Okay? So you’d better be quick.”  
“Okay!” I jumped excitedly and ran down the street towards the church, the wind whipping through my jacket.  
I remember climbing the steps up to the door. My heart was racing. My stomach had a sudden sick feeling, and I was almost scared to walk in. If anyone besides Piper saw me, they’d probably faint or call the cops.  
But adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, and I intended to walk through that door. I intended to see Piper.  
I ran up and pulled on the handle. The door didn’t budge. I yanked and pulled, but it was locked.  
“Are you kidding me?!” I shouted. “Open up! I’m here for the funeral!”  
No response. I wondered if anyone was inside. The door would probably be locked until the funeral, and Sorcha had made it very clear that we’d be leaving in 30 minutes.  
I pounded on the door, but no one answered. Piper clearly wasn’t inside.  
“Really?!” I kicked the door and marched back down the steps, muttering words that no one should ever say at church.  
I paced on the sidewalk, trying to figure out where Piper might be. The clock was ticking, but I was out of places to look.  
I closed my eyes and imagined returning to Valhalla, this entire trip being all for nothing. Everyone else would yell at me. Sorcha might be fired; TJ would hate me for getting his sister in trouble; and I’d get an earful from the others.  
And all for nothing. All for nothing.  
I turned to walk back to Sorcha. I’d tell her what had happened, and we’d go back to Valhalla.  
And I had every intention of doing so, but the harpy feather had other ideas. The wind blew it out of my hand and back down the street.  
I tried to keep walking, but I felt my legs turn around and run after it. I wasn’t going to lose the only thing I had left of Piper.  
It flew down the road, then drifted over to the sidewalk. I ran after it as fast as I could, but a harpy feather in the wind can move awfully fast.  
After a couple of blocks, I lost it. I fell to my knees to catch my breath.  
It suddenly occurred to me that I should be able to control the wind. I held up my hands and tried to move the feather back to me, but nothing happened.  
I stared at my shaking hands angrily. Now, I was even farther away from Sorcha, and I knew she’d be coming to find me soon to take me back.  
Then, I heard the footsteps of someone walking on the sidewalk towards me. I stood up, lifting my gaze to see who it was.  
And my shoulders dropped. My heart rose out of my chest and into my throat, where it wanted to explode out of my lips in the form of words, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.  
There, approaching me on the sidewalk, her eyes fixed on the ground, was the most beautiful girl I’d once known. She was covered in black from head to toe, and her eyes were bloodshot as if she’d been crying.  
I could barely speak, no matter how hard I tried to scream. I swallowed the urge to cry, and finally I let a single word escape my mouth.  
“Piper!”  
She looked up suddenly, yet also carefully, as if scared to believe I was actually there. Once she saw me, her mouth dropped open and she let go of the bag she was carrying.  
“Jason!”  
I took a step forward. She surged forward faster than I’d ever seen her run. I held out my arms and caught her, spinning her around.  
Her voice was shaky as she buried her face in my shoulder. “How- How the- How are you here?”  
I laughed. “I honestly don’t know.”  
She squeezed my neck so hard, I thought I would choke. “I saw your body.” She pulled away suddenly and touched the spot on my chest where I’d been impaled. “You were dead.”  
“I was.” I took a shaky breath, remembering that I was still dead. How was I supposed to explain that to her?  
She pressed her hand to my cheek and looked into my eyes, still hardly believing I was there. Then, she leaned forward and kissed me. For the first time in months, it felt real. I wanted to freeze time and live in that moment forever.  
But I couldn’t, and when she pulled away, I knew I’d have to tell her the truth.  
“Look, Piper-”  
“No. Don’t say anything.” She closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I was such a jerk.”  
“What? Pipes, you were amazing.” I noticed she still had some cuts and bruises. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”  
Her eyes swelled up again. “It’s just…..I thought that Hera-”  
“Hey,” I pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay. Sometimes, things happen for a reason.”  
We stayed like that for a while, my arms around her, her face buried in my shoulder. I was so relieved to have her back. I didn’t want to think about having to leave her ever again.  
But I knew I had to. I knew it the second I heard Sorcha land behind me, out of breath after having searched for me.  
“Where were you?” she asked. “I thought you were just going down to the church.”  
Piper pulled away and looked at Sorcha. “Who are you?”  
“My name is Sorcha. I’m Jason’s-”  
“She’s a friend,” I said quickly. Then, I realized how wrong that must have sounded.  
Piper looked me, then back at Sorcha, then at me again. “Are you two….?”  
“No,” Sorcha answered quickly. “I’m his valkyrie. I’m here to take him back to Valhalla before I get fired.”  
“What?” Piper looked at me. “What’s a valkyrie? What’s Valhalla? What is she talking about?”  
“Pipes, look-”  
Sorcha interrupted. “A valkyrie is hired to reap the souls of the dying; Valhalla is the home of the honored dead; And we really need to leave,” she looked at me. “Now.”  
“But the underworld is where the dead go,” Piper argued. “And Jason…” She looked at me. “You were dead. I saw your body. B-But you’re here now. How is that possible?”  
“Piper, I promise to explain everything later. It’s just that… Right now…”  
“You are dead, aren’t you?” She touched my face. “You’re not really here.”  
“Of course I’m here. I just can’t be here much longer. The people in Valhalla will be furious with me.”  
“And me,” Sorcha added. She looked at Piper. “It was great meeting you, and I’m glad Jason was able to find you again. You seem cool, but Jason has to come with me right now, okay?”  
“No!” Piper argued. “I just got him back. I won’t let you take him away again.”  
“Piper-”  
She interrupted me. “No. Jason, you want to stay here, don’t you?”  
I grabbed her shoulders. “Of course. More than anything. But you have to understand….. I just can’t.”  
She shook her head. “But-”  
I kissed her again, knowing this was likely to be our last moment together. Sorcha rolled her eyes, but I didn’t care. I pressed my forehead to Piper’s.  
“I love you, Pipes.” I gave Sorcha a thumbs up to signal I was ready.  
Piper sounded like she was going to cry again. “You can’t just-”  
Sorcha grabbed me and took off, launching into the air faster than I could blink. Piper was gone.  
When we returned to Valhalla, dinner was already over. No one was in the dining area. No one was out searching for us. I found that somehow comforting.  
“Maybe they didn’t realize we left,” I suggested.  
“They did,” she said, shaking her head. “They always notice these things.”  
We stood there for a few minutes, gazing over the landscape. The air was cold, which made me forget once again that I was in the afterlife.  
“It’s...peaceful. Like the whole world has fallen asleep.”  
Sorcha huffed. “I’m not sure I’d think of it that way.” Then she shook her head and looked at me. “Go get some sleep. We’ll face the others tomorrow.”  
I didn’t want to sleep, but I figured I should obey. After everything I’d put her through, it made sense to at least listen to what she told me.  
I remember slowly making my way up the stairs to floor nineteen. The lights were all out except mine.  
“Did I really leave the light on?” I shook my head. “I’m so stupid.”  
I unlocked the door and walked in. Inside, sitting or lying in various places on the floor, were Magnus, Alex, Halfborn, TJ, and Mallory.  
“Oh good, you’re back.” Alex sat up. “We heard about what happened.”  
I wondered why he sounded so calm. More importantly, I wondered why it scared me so much.  
Magnus was the one to freak out. “What were you thinking? You could have been killed!”  
“I would have been killed anyway after dinner,” I pointed out. “I figured I should go visit my friend.”  
“How did you escape?” Mallory asked. “Did you recycle yourself?”  
“The idiot probably tried to climb down the world tree,” Halfborn said, shaking his head.  
Alex and Magnus shared a look, and I assumed they were both thinking the same thing.  
“Actually, I-” I stopped, fully processing what Halfborn had said. “Wait, what? World tree? We can move in between worlds by climbing a tree?”  
Mallory slapped her hand over Halfborn’s mouth. “Don’t listen to anything he says. He’s an idiot.”  
Halfborn shoved her arm away. “I thought he would already know. Isn’t that something he’s supposed to know?”  
“No!” I argued. “Why didn’t you guys mention that before?”  
Everyone started talking at the same time, some shouting to be heard above the others.   
“It doesn’t matter,” TJ finally spoke, silencing everyone else. He stood up and looked at me. “Did my sister help you?”  
I swallowed. “Look, TJ-”  
“Did she?”  
I hesitated for too long. I felt a shiver run down my spine. “I won’t let her get in trouble. I promise.”  
TJ sighed. “I told her not to do anything foolish.”  
“It was my fault,” I said quickly. “I…. challenged her.”  
TJ looked confused for half a second, then his expression became suddenly troubled. “Oh.”  
I blinked. “Are you mad?”  
He shook his head. “We’ll talk about it later. You should sleep.”  
The others muttered in agreement and started getting up.  
“Well, Jason,” Alex gave me a sympathetic look as he walked out. “I’ll kill you tomorrow.”  
Magnus patted my shoulder. “He will. Literally. Sleep well.”  
Halfborn nodded and walked out after them. Mallory and TJ followed.  
I closed the door behind them and sighed. The room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. I ran my fingers through my hair, which had somehow gotten longer since I’d arrived. Was hair supposed to grow in the afterlife?  
I sat down on my bed and stared at the wall. Shadows seemed to dance around in my eyes, but I couldn’t tell where they came from. Then I realized I was tired. I tried to stand back up, but my legs failed me. I collapsed on the bed and closed my eyes, not knowing what to do. I let sleep take over me, and tried not to think of what would happen next.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up in the middle of the night. There was a desperate knock on the door, and I could hear someone muttering angrily to themselves.  
“Who’s there?” I whispered.  
The knocking continued.  
I slowly emerged from my bed and made my way to the door. The world seemed to rotate around me, as if I was having some sort of weird hallucination.  
“Look, Alex,” I sighed helplessly. “You can kill me tomorrow. Can I just get some sleep right now?”  
The voice that responded did not belong to Alex. “Jason?”  
I blinked. “Piper?”  
Another knock on the door, this time much faster. “Open up.”  
I swung the door open, and Piper almost fell through the doorway. She looked up at me, her eyes widening as a smile appeared on her face. “I found you.”  
My mouth must have dropped to the floor. “What are you doing here? How did you even-”  
She jumped up and clapped her hand over my mouth. “Shut up, Sparky. We have to get out of here.”  
I pulled her hand away. “What are you talking about? How are you even here?”  
She huffed, running her fingers through her hair. “Long story,” I noticed the sad look in her eyes. “You have to come with me, okay?”  
“I can’t. They’ll never let me leave.”  
“Oh, please. What are they going to do about it? It’s not like they’ll come to earth after you.”  
“Some of them might,” I thought of Magnus and Alex. I wasn’t inclined to make Alex angry again. I was already on her kill list. “Piper, you shouldn’t be here.”  
“Neither should you. We both know you’re not a viking. Now, follow me. I know how to get you out.”  
“It’s not going to work.”  
“I need you back. This will work. Trust me, I’ll do anything.”  
“Sorcha will get fired.”  
Piper looked confused for a second. “Who?” Then, a look of understanding passed over her face. “Oh. Her.”  
“If I leave Valhalla again, Sorcha will take the fall for everything.”  
Piper sighed. “She can come with us, then. She’ll get along great with…” She trailed off, as if unsure of what to say.  
“With who?”  
“Nico,” she decided. “She seems like the type of person who would get along well with Nico.”  
I wanted to ask why, but I decided to drop it. “Piper, there’s no way for me to leave.”  
“I have a plan already,” she assured me. “We can leave the way I entered. They’ll never find you.” She grabbed my hand. “You can come back.”  
“But then what?”  
She stopped.  
“You think Thanatos will just let me wander around on earth? Even if he does, I’m a demigod. I’m bound to die again, and when I do, it’ll be permanent.”  
“I won’t let that happen,” she whispered.  
“You overestimate how much control you have over the situation,” I repeated what Sorcha had told me. “I need to stay here.”  
She closed her eyes, tugging on my hand again. She seemed to understand that I wasn’t moving. “I can’t lose you again.”  
“Piper,” Saying her name filled me with a kind of happiness I knew I’d never find again in Valhalla. “You need to move on.”  
She didn’t respond.  
“I’m dead,” Saying the words was almost more of a struggle than forcing a smile. “No matter how much I wish it could change… You can’t be in love with someone who’s no longer alive.”  
She looked at me, her eyes beginning to glaze over. “You can’t say that. Percy and Annabeth escaped hell. Why can’t we escape…. heaven?”  
I kissed her hand. “This isn’t heaven, and that wasn’t hell. You need to stop comparing us to Percy and Annabeth.”  
“But-”  
I hugged her. “Please, Pipes. Move on.” I forced myself to laugh. “Live your life. Go to Oklahoma with your dad. Tell Apollo to build the temple hill. Tell Leo the truth.”  
Her voice started to break. “You can tell him….yourself.”  
I took a deep breath and whispered, “You know I can’t.”  
She started to cry. “I’m not… not ready to let go.”  
“I know. Neither am I.”  
I spotted Sorcha walking down the hall. She froze when she saw me.  
Take her, I mouthed. Back to earth.  
Sorcha looked at me, confused. Then, her expression changed to a very frustrated look, but she nodded.  
“Maybe both of us just need to grieve for a while,” I told Piper.  
“I’m not going to let you- Hey!”  
Sorcha was grabbing her from behind, making sure to get a tight grip on her arms before moving anywhere.  
“Jason?!”  
“Goodbye, Pipes.”  
Sorcha nodded, then took off backwards out the window, pulling Piper with her.  
My arms suddenly felt so empty, and my chest felt hollow. For the first time, I could actually believe I was dead.  
For some reason, I was still standing there when Sorcha returned.  
“Go back to bed,” she told me.  
“How could she have gotten here?”  
“I don’t know.”  
I swallowed hard. “I wanted to go with her. I.. I wanted to-”  
“I know. Get some sleep, okay?”  
I blinked, shaking my head quickly. “Is that what you were doing?”  
“Of course. I just happened to be wandering the halls. I fully intended to go back to sleep.  
“In your armor? With your hair in a braid? Come on, there’s no way you sleep with your hair in a braid.”  
“Maybe I do.” She fiddled with her armor before turning around and marching back down the hall.  
I shook my head and returned to my room. It didn’t seem possible to go back to sleep after that, so I sat down in a chair.  
My elbow shoved the CD player off of the desk. I expected it to break on the ground, but instead, it landed on the play button. It continued the disk right from where I’d left off, still in the middle of a song. The music blasted through my room.  
“Give them hell. Turn their heads.”  
I quickly reached to grab it, trying to make it stop before everyone else woke up.  
“Gonna live life till we’re dead.”  
“Shut up,” I muttered, pressing every button until I could turn it off.  
“Give me scars. Give me p-”  
I opened it up and pulled the CD out. The music stopped.  
I slowed my breathing, waiting for someone to knock on my door. No one did. The CD player fell to the ground with a clatter. I winced.  
I laid the CD onto the desk and huffed. My heart rate finally slowed, though my thoughts continued to race.  
I clenched my fist, wanting so badly to pick the CD up and throw it against the wall; to watch it shatter into tiny pieces; to hear it break the way my soul had.  
But I didn’t. I just stared at the name of the song, written on top of the disk.  
“The fighter.” I wanted to hate it. Why was it able to follow me to Valhalla- to stay- when Piper couldn’t? Why did it have to blast through my room, bringing nothing but painful memories and lost hope?  
At last, there was a soft knock at the door.  
“Go away,” I said. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture.”  
“Open the door, Jason.” Sorcha’s voice was much more gentle than it had been before. “I just want to talk.”  
I exhaled. “I don’t.”  
She was quiet for a while, and I wondered if she’d decided to leave. Then, her voice broke the silence. “You owe me.”  
Somehow, that statement made my heart creep up into my throat. I opened the door, and she stumbled in.  
I glared at her the way she would always glare at me. She looked back with a half-hearted smile. “You know, I read about the so-called….underworld. Frankly, I think this place is a tremendous improvement.”  
I sat down on my bed. “The underworld isn’t the same for everybody, you know. I could have chosen to be reborn. I could have returned to earth and lived life again,” I smiled at the thought. “Maybe even as a normal person.”  
Sorcha sat down next to me and gazed forward at the wall. Her braid fell down her back, and her dark eyes focused contentedly on a picture of Thalia. “I think normal is overrated.”  
I scoffed. “That’s something normal people say.”  
She raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”  
I didn’t know why it took me so long to respond. “Yeah.”  
She scooted backwards and dug her ankles into the side of the bed. “I think normal people don’t worry about what they could be doing. Normal people have a sense of reality.”  
“Must be nice.”  
“Normal people don’t wish for what you have.”  
“No one wishes for what I have. I don’t have anything anymore.”  
“You have us,” she raised her eyebrow hopefully. “And if you want to talk….”  
“No. I just want to be left alone for now.”  
“You mean you want me to leave.”  
I shifted uncomfortably, sliding off the bed slowly. “Yeah. That’s what alone means.”  
She stood up. “Alright. I’ll see you in the morning for our… judgement.”  
“Okay.”  
I opened the door for her.  
“Jason,” she asked before leaving. “Did you ever get that harpy feather back?”  
A lump formed in my throat as I remembered having to leave Piper. “No. It blew away in the wind.”  
She gave me a fraction of a smile before walking out. I closed the door behind her.  
It was only a few hours before morning came, and I was not ready to be judged for leaving. I wanted to go to the judge and insist that I hadn’t done anything wrong. No one had been hurt. I was still just as dead as I had been before. Had it been so wrong to wish for closure?  
I opened my door and groaned as I walked out of the room. “Alex!” I called. “You can kill me now!”  
No such luck. Alex was nowhere to be seen. She clearly intended to let me suffer through the morning and then kill me.  
Magnus came out of his room and patted me on the shoulder. “Worst case scenario, you get to wash dishes for a couple decades.”  
That didn’t sound very inviting, but I knew that wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. If Sorcha got banished, it would be my fault.  
I walked down miserably to the eating area, where everyone was happily eating breakfast.  
TJ waved me over. “Sleep well?”  
“No.”  
Halfborn grunted. “Well, it’s hard to relax when you know you’ll be punished in the morning.”  
“I’m not worried about getting punished,” I argued. “I’m worried about Sorcha.”  
“As you should be,” TJ agreed. “I’m scared too.”  
“Just relax,” Mallory finished eating her donut. “Don’t stress over things you can’t control.”  
“That’s what you do!” Magnus pointed out.  
To avoid a fight breaking out (because Mallory was very aggressive), I spoke rather quickly. “What if this is something I can control? Is there a way to convince everyone to put the blame entirely on me?”  
Everyone stared at me. Alex shook her head disapprovingly. “You suck at getting yourself out of messes.”  
Magnus shoved her, then seemed to realize he’d made a terrible mistake. He jumped up and sat on the other side of the table.  
I sighed. “I’m trying to-”  
“We know,” Mallory said. “You’re trying to save Sorcha because you feel bad about what you did. Get over it.”  
TJ jumped up. “Excuse me-”  
“Quiet, everyone!” A large viking shouted to get our attention.  
Everyone shut up and looked at him. Even TJ, who was still in the process of defending his little sister, slowly sat back down.  
“A terrible crime has been committed!” Though his voice was loud and determined, his expression was bored. “Everyone, look upon the people sitting at that table!” He pointed to our table.  
Naturally, I stood up, hoping I’d get a chance to explain everything.  
The viking looked confused. “Sit down, boy! I’m not done talking!”  
I looked at TJ, who shrugged helplessly. I slowly sat down again.  
“This boy,” The viking yelled, pointing again at our table. “Is going to be brought up for questioning!”  
I stood up and walked toward the front of the room. “Look, Sir. Nothing happened, really. No one was harmed in any way. I promise. If you would just let me explain-”  
The viking still looked confused. “What are you going on about, boy? Sit down and let me talk!”  
“But you wanted to bring me up for questioning,” I argued.  
“You? You’re the last person I would question. You don’t even know who Blitzen and Hearthstone are! I was going to question him!” Once again, he pointed towards our table. “Magnus Chase!”  
Everyone focused directly on Magnus. Some people looked surprised. Most of them looked more annoyed. “Here we go again,” one person muttered.  
Magnus stood up. “Me? What did I do now?”  
“You know those two guys, right? The dwarf and the elf? Well, they’ve gone missing.”  
“What? They’re working at the Chase Space, aren’t they? Blitz was also running his store. They haven’t been to Valhalla in a while, but-”  
“No, Magnus. They’re missing. Not just from Valhalla, either. The valkyries have reported seeing homeless teens gathered outside the mansion. There was no one to let them in.”  
“The doors aren’t supposed to be locked,” Magnus argued.  
“How long has this been happening?” Alex shot to her feet.  
The large viking sighed. “I just received word of it. If you have any information about where they might be-”  
“I don’t know,” Magnus interrupted. He looked at Alex carefully. “But I guess we’d better go find out.”  
“We need to reopen the Chase Space,” Alex added. “We should do that now. Magnus, bring whatever money you have. We have to help those kids.”  
“On it.” He turned and ran back to the hotel.  
“Wait,” I grabbed Alex’s arm before she could follow Magnus. I figured that was probably a bad idea, but I didn’t have time to worry about getting killed. “You’re going back to Midgard?”  
“Of course.” She glared at me. “But you’re not coming. You’ve caused enough trouble for one decade.”  
“But I can help!” I argued. “I know Annabeth. She might be able to figure out what’s happened to your friends.”  
“Magnus also knows Annabeth,” Alex pointed out. “They’re cousins. You’re staying here.”  
“But-”  
“Finish your breakfast, Fierro,” Halfborn called. “The kids can wait.”  
Alex glared at him as if he’d insulted her personally (which he seemed to do a lot). “Why don’t you stay out of this?”  
He grunted uncomfortably, but said nothing in reply. Alex marched back to the hotel to find Magnus.  
I looked at TJ, then Mallory. Neither of them said anything. Halfborn shook his head quickly, as if he knew what I was thinking.  
I spun around towards the hotel, where I could see figures through some of the windows. “TJ,” I began, my voice almost as low as a whisper. “Will Sorcha…”  
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Right now, though, she seems to be in no danger of getting fired.”  
I could almost feel Halfborn glaring at me, warning me not to act on impulse again. But I thought of earth, and I realized that there was no way Sorcha would take the fall this time. She wouldn’t even be involved.  
I looked back at Halfborn and grinned. The stupid, excited kind of grin Leo always used to give me before doing something incredibly stupid but impossibly amazing. Then, I spun around and ran towards the hotel, determined to reach Alex and Magnus before they left.


End file.
